Endings and Beginnings
by SharonH
Summary: Two people meet who should have met long ago, but by some twist didn't. Now can they pick up the broken pieces of each other's lives?


Dom sat in the lawn chair staring out at the sun coming up over the ocean. Inside his house people had been crashed on couches, chairs, and even the floor. It had been quite the party for some of them. He'd sent them home quickly. He took a swig of the warming corona without noticing. It had been a long year. A full year since Letty died when the car flipped. A full year since he'd come to Mexico. Brian had followed soon after, and Dom had punched his ass out. In the end he couldn't hold the grudge, not with the man who helped save him; the man who was going to marry his little sister. Vince and Leon had followed six months later. Brian and Mia had their own little place to the left of Dom's house, and Vince and Leon lived with Dom. Still one big family. One big family still mourning the loss of two of their own. Letty and Jesse. He could imagine them up there together looking down at the crew. Looking up at the sky he saluted it with his beer.

"Looks like we're getting new neighbors." Vince said gruffly coming out of the house. The houses on the street were spaced widely apart which allowed plenty of privacy.

Dom looked over at the moving van that had been unloading into the house to the right of Dom's for awhile. "Yeah, they been at it for a good hour." It really didn't surprise him that the house had sold. It was a nice fucking house, two stories, plenty of room. Dom had almost bought it instead of the one they did get.

"Hope they aren't old and stuck up like the last assholes."

Dom smiled wryly, "Well, if they are, I'm sure they won't stay long once they get a look at us."

"COOL!" the two men heard the joyous yell and saw a kid racing down to the water. A huge German Shepard raced after him barking. The kid, from the looks of it a boy, raced fully clothed into calf deep water and the dog followed snapping at the white foam.

"Pieter!" a woman's voice called, and Dom and Vince saw a girl; well woman really; come out from the sliding glass doors. She was standing in shadow so they couldn't see her clearly. She spoke to the boy in a language that they didn't recognize, and hanging his head slightly he trudged back towards the house. Laughing the girl met him halfway.

"Well, helloooo there." Vince said with a gleam in his eyes. The girl had put her arm around the boy and they were walking together talking quietly. She was about 5'4" and petite. Long dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail, cut off jean shorts, and an orange tank top completed her look. She and the boy were both giggling. "Wonder if she's legal." He muttered and Dom burst out laughing.

His deep rumbling laugh drew the attention of the two newcomers and they glanced over at the two men. The girl raised her hand in a slight wave, and they kept walking. Leon came out of the house stretching. "What's goin on?" he mumbled still half asleep.

"New neighbors." Vince commented. He was still watching the door where the girl had entered. "So far a kid, a dog, and a girl."

Leon perked up. "Girl huh? Cute?"

"Dunno, didn't get an up close look." They watched as the movers put the last few pieces of large furniture on the deck, and drove off. "That was weird. Why didn't they put it inside?"

Two women and the kid came out onto the porch to stare at the furniture with their hands on their hips. The second woman was similarly dressed to the first, and they looked identical from the back. A rumbling noise grew louder until a motorcycle appeared around the corner. The driver of the cycle parked in front of the small detached garage, and headed to the porch. The figure was wearing a helmet, and a black leather jacket. Worn jeans, almost white from fading, covered long legs. The boy ran out of the house and threw himself onto the rider. The person hugged the boy close and removed the helmet, shaking out her tousled hair. She handed the helmet to the boy, and shrugged out of the stifling jacket. That's the first look they had of the girl. She had shoulder length hair, the same color as the other two girls, but there were deep red/burgundy streaks framing her face. She wore a black wife-beater that hugged her lush curves lovingly. She was adorned with several tattoos.

"If all them girls are living there, we just got some type of gift from god." Leon muttered.

The men continued to watch as they lifted and moved the lighter stuff inside. Sometimes they would bring something out, shift something else, and then move it back inside. When there were only big pieces left on the deck the small group met outside again.

"That seriously looks way too heavy for us to move Mikki." Leena told her redundantly as they stared at the large sectional sofa. Mikki looked at her little sister with a cocked eyebrow.

"If I get on that end, and you and Ilyanna take the other, we could probably manage." She said in her husky voice. She was tired. She knew her family was tired too.

"Can we offer help?" a masculine voice came from behind them on the beach. Turning, the girls found three men standing about 25 feet away. "We live next door."

The man talking was shorter than the other two, but wiry and muscular. He wore a basketball jersey and shorts. His hair was buzzed off, and he had a strong jaw. The second man was tall, a little over 6', and quite muscular with brown coarse hair cut close to his head. A few days worth of beard adorned his face, and he was quite attractive. He was wearing an old button down shirt that read 'Vince'. It was the third man who caught Mikki's attention. He was huge. He was just slightly taller than 'Vince', with bulging muscles, tight, six pack abs, and narrow hips. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and the sun gleamed off his shaved head and deep bronzed skin. Boxers were showing an inch up from dark baggy jeans that belted low on his hips. All three men were barefoot, and had tattoos lining their arms and shoulders.

Ilyanna was looking at Mikki waiting for her to respond. Mikki nodded, "That would be great thanks."

When the women turned to face them they could tell that they were somehow related. They had the same shade of chestnut hair, same shape in the eyes, same chin. The taller woman's mouth was a little wider, and while they had the same nose, her nose was slightly crooked; possibly from a broken nose at some point. She stared at them from bottle-green eyes.

The shorter girl smiled. "I'm Ilyanna." She said in a sweet voice. There might have been a hint of accent in her voice, but it was barely noticeable." The other girl and the boy came out the front door. Ilyanna and the girl that just joined them were almost identical; except Ilyanna had brown eyes, and the new girl had the bottle green eyes. The girl with the green eyes also had a small scar running through her left eyebrow. "This is my sister Leena, and our brother Pieter. And this is Mikayla, our oldest sister, she's the leader of our pack."

"I'm Leon. This is Vince, and this is Dom. Dom's sister and her fiancé live on the other side of our house." Up closer they could see all the girls had a variety of small scars. They weren't anything to detract from their looks, but they were noticeable. Mikayla had a savage white scar that started at the top of her shoulder and curved around almost to the middle of her neck. All the females had some sort of tattoos or piercing.

Vince and Leon moved to one piece of the sectional and started to move it, while Leena got the door. As soon as the door opened the German Shepard was there, and growling viciously with its teeth bared.

Mikayla stepped forward. "Diesel! Sitzen Sie! Freunde!" At her words the dog sat quickly on its rump and whined slightly. "My apologies, men make him nervous." She told the men. Her accent was only slightly stronger than her sisters and again barely noticeable.

"Your dog speaks German?" Dom asked his gravelly voice rumbling from his chest.

"He is a guard dog, and was trained that way." She told him. "Will you help me with the other piece of the couch?"

Dom moved up to the other end and picked it up from the bottom. He looked over to make sure she was ok on her end, and caught a glimpse of cleavage before noticing her muscular arms. She was strong and in good shape so they managed to get the piece through the door and into the living room. Diesel belly crawled over to her to make sure he was still in her good graces. Pieter was firing off questions at Vince and Leon, and accidentally bumped into Dom. He turned to face the big man with frightened eyes.

"I'm sorry." His voice quivered.

Dom looked at the kid in front of him. He looked to be about thirteen, maybe a year younger. He gave the kid a smile to put him at ease. "Pieter right?" at the boy's nod he continued. "No problem Pieter." He looked over to Mikayla.

She shrugged slightly. "Men make him nervous too."

"So, we're havin a party later if yall wanna come over." Leon was telling Leena. The group was sitting on the couch having moved everything in rather quickly.

"It is up to Mikayla." Leena told him. She looked at Mikayla who nodded slightly.

"I think it's fine if you guys went for a little while." She told Leena carefully.

Leena smiled at Leon. "We'll come. But it will have to be later. We have to set up first."

Mikayla stood and headed to the porch, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. She lit one and inhaled deeply. It really was beautiful, fucking hot, but beautiful. All she could hope now was that she'd made the right decision for them all. It was summer now, but when the fall came would internet schooling be enough for Pieter? Would they be safe? Would they be happy? It was her job to ensure all of this. She knew her sisters would adapt. It was Pieter she worried about.

She heard giggling and turned to see her sisters and their new mystery friends hauling out their equipment. She and her sisters had been jamming since their pre teens. Their little band wasn't anything that would take them anywhere, but it gave them great enjoyment. The big guy, Dom, and Pieter came out with Diesel panting at the big man's side. Traitor, she thought watching the dog gaze at the man adoringly. He had her guitar case in his hands. It looked small compared to him.

His dark eyes caught hers, "Where would you like this?"

Mikki dropped the butt of the cigarette on the ground and strode forward to grab her baby. "Thanks." She headed for the area of the deck the other two were setting up on.

Dom looked down at Pieter. "They any good?"

Pieter looked up at the large man; already stuck in a case of hero worship. "Yeah. I think so. When I'm a little older I'll get to play too. I already play some guitar. Mikki teaches me. Do you play anything?"

"Nah, I work on cars. Street racin'."

"Like Vaughn."

"Vaughn?"

"He was Mikki's boyfriend." Pieter said quietly as they started warming up.

The party was in full swing at the house by the time Leena and Ilyanna showed up.

Vince and Leon were delighted. "Glad you could come." Leon yelled over the music. Vince curled his arm around Ilyanna's shoulders, and she just grinned at him. Leena pulled Leon into the area where people were dancing and started dancing against him.

Dom was sitting on the porch in his lounge chair again when Mia and Brian walked up. They were holding hands and looked peaceful.

Mia leaned down and kissed Dom on the cheek. "Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"Anything going on, besides yet another party?" she asked amused.

"Vince and Leon are in heaven. We got new neighbors. A family of three sisters and a brother, just a kid really. Two of the girls are in playing with the boys."

"Great, more girls to hang out with." Mia said brightly. "Do they seem friendly?"

"The two inside do, the older one seems a little lone wolfish."

Brian kissed Mia on the cheek, "I'm going to go get a drink, do either of you want one?"

Mia said no, and Dom held up his corona. Brian nodded in acknowledgment, and headed inside. "How's the pretty boy treating you?"

"Dom."

"I'm teasin Mia. I like Brian."

"It wasn't his fault you know."

"I know it wasn't." Dom said, and it was true. He didn't blame Brian. Looking down at the neighbors house he saw the telltale glow of a cigarette. "Looks like the other neighbor's out if you want to go meet her."

He watched Mia walk down to talk to Mikayla and hoped the standoffish woman wasn't rude to her.

Mia walked up to the lone figure sitting on the steps of the porch. "Hi." The woman turned to her and Mia was slightly startled. She was lovely. Mikki was wearing a man's huge white undershirt, and a pair of boxers which left her long legs bare. Her hair a deep shade of caramel, and naturally wavy was blowing in the light breeze, and the red streaks were framing a heart shaped face.

"Hi." the woman said putting out her cigarette. "You're the big guy's sister." she stated.

"Yeah, how did you know.?"

"Well, he did tell us he had a sister, and you have the same eyes. The same look."

Mia wasn't sure whether she'd just been complimented or insulted. "Thanks."

Mikki laughed. "I meant that as a compliment." Mikki patted the seat next to her on the deck. "I'm Mikayla, you can call me Mikki."

"I'm Mia. I must say I'm really glad to have more women around."

"You mean none of those boys have women?"

"Leon and Vince? No."

"Well, I have a feeling my sisters will be glad to hear that." she chuckled again. "I must say though I figured Big Guy would have a girl."

Mia could tell the woman wasn't fishing for information, "He did, for a long time. She died a year ago. It's been hard."

Mikki winced, her expression growing sober. "Harsh, it's never easy. Never will be."

Mia motioned to the acoustic guitar on the deck behind Mikki. "You play?"

"I like to think so." she answered quietly.

"Will you play something?" Mia asked earnestly.

Mikki grabbed the guitar and started strumming some chords. Before she knew it she was strumming a song she played quite a bit, and caught up in it, didn't notice that her sisters, Vince, Leon, Brian, and Dom had made their way down to the music. She started singing Fire and Rain by James Taylor, and was slightly startled when her sisters joined her halfway through on the chorus. At the end of the song, Mikki wiped the tears from her cheeks. She hadn't even realized she was crying.

"One more time, eh, Mik?" Leena smiled, wiping a tear from under her eye.

"Yeah Lee, one more time."

Ilyanna sniffled slightly. "Mikki, I think we should throw a party tomorrow night. A sort of 'we're fucking here' party. Invite everyone, before we unpack, that way we only clean once. We can jam, have a good fucking time."

"Right, like we won't have any parties after we unpack." she snorted. "Yeah, ok."

Dom walked away silently. That song had made him think. He'd never been much for that type of music. He normally enjoyed something that made a person think of kicking someone's ass. But that particular song had made him remember his lost friends. His lost Letty. He'd loved her more than he'd ever shown her, and he regretted that every day. He didn't think he'd ever find another woman like her, but if he did, he sure as hell would make sure she knew he loved her. And he wouldn't fuck it up like he did before.

The next day Mikayla and her family spent most of the day getting ready for their party. Mikayla also spent the day anxiously awaiting the arrival of her cars. She had two, and they were beauties. She owned a Lamborghini Gallardo; purple with silver chrome, and electric blue flames, and an Enzo Ferrari with silver detailing. She wouldn't be happy until they were with her in their happy little garage where they would be safe.

The girls had gone crazy going into the small town and buying white lights, a ton of booze, and a ton of food. She wasn't worried about the cost; hell, she had plenty of money. She told Pieter that he could hang out, but the first alcoholic beverage he touched would get him grounded until he turned 35. He had scowled and told her how nasty liquor was, and couldn't believe they were going to drink it. She had laughed heartily at this. The two girls had come downstairs dressed in all their jamming glory. Ilyanna who played drums for their little band was wearing a cut off denim skirt, that just barely covered her ass, and a maroon crocheted top that tied around her neck and had one small string that tied at the bottom of her back. Her tattoos of angel wings on her shoulder blades were shown off perfectly. Leena, who played bass, was wearing a black bikini top, and cut off denim shorts. Her triple pierced belly button glinted with precious stones. She had two tattoos , two purple butterflies, and they were placed one each on each swell of breast.

Mikki was in her rattiest, torn up, tight ass jeans. The tears showing off plenty of tanned, toned, leg. She was wearing an extremely tight black Harley-Davidson wife-beater, and had kept her feet bare. They started jamming way before the party started, with Pieter bouncing up and down as he listened, and their new friends heading down as they heard the music. They played an eclectic mix. Punk, alternative, rock, hard rock, and some classic rock, mixed in with a few originals. They were drawing plenty of people in, even more than the group that had been invited, and they'd all been attracted by the live music and pretty girls.

Every once in a while they would take a break, mingle, and drink. It seemed to Mikki that her sisters and their little mover helpers were getting along quite well. Which was fine. They were adults, 24 years old, only born ten minutes apart with Ilyanna being the eldest. Mikki was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol, which probably wasn't the best since she seemed to get a bit melancholy when she drank these days. Who was she fucking kidding, she got down right depressed. She danced with a couple of rich dicks that thought they were gonna get some, and were surprised when she walked away. Big Guy was there putting the moves on some little blonde. It made Mikki laugh to see the little girl eating up whatever line of bullshit he was feeding her. Good for you Big Guy, she thought.

She approached their make shift stage and looked at her sisters who were buzzing just as hard as she was. "One more set, then I'm done for." They nodded their agreement to this plan. They played Vindictive by Dashboard Confessional, Collide by Howie Day, and moved on to Evanescence's Bring me to Life.

"Ok guys." Mikki started in her sexy voice. "This is the last song of the evening, then the stereo will be put to good use. It's a new one for us, hope you like it."

The song was sort of like a ballad, and for some reason Dom listened to the lyrics closely. She wasn't playing for this one, instead of Pieter had come up to play for it. The kid was actually good. They were all good, even if it wasn't his usual type of music.

She crooned holding tight to the microphone. :

Walking the path alone when I met you

Changed my life in the blink of an eye

Took the time and taught me to laugh and to play

Told me you liked it when I was wild.

The first man to show me understanding

Didn't try to change my mind

First man to claim both my heart and my bed,

How could you be gone in the blink of an eye.

And I don't know why you were taken away

I don't understand how I'm surviving each day

Alone in my bed every night I hide my cries

And hide that every day another part of me dies.

Without you…

She finished the song, threw the microphone down, and stepped off the stage. She didn't talk to anyone, just grabbed a bottle of tequila, and walked away from everyone and everything.

Mikki gulped down the burning liquid feeling it hit her stomach and making her want to vomit.

Leena didn't think, just went after her sister. Ilyanna went to find Leon and Vince who'd gone to their house to get more ice. Dom sighed and followed behind Leena to make sure she didn't get into trouble.

Mikki was on her knees in the sand sobbing when Leena reached her. Leena dropped down, wrapping her arms around her big sister. Dom watched from the shadows, hearing them, but not wanting to intrude.

"Why Lee, why? I miss him so much."

Ilyanna went running past Dom, but he stopped Leon and Vince. Ilyanna and Lee helped Mikki to her feet. She was fucked up, and was weaving.

"Hey baby!" One of the rich dicks from the party had approached from the other side. Dom and his friends moved a little closer, just in case. "Why don't you three ladies stay and play." He'd come up close to the girls and was running his hand down Mikki's arm.

Mikki stood up straight and looked at the man, more of a boy really. "Why don't you take a hike?" Lee told him angrily.

"Why don't you mind your own fucking business bitch."

"Did you just call my sister a bitch?" Mikki asked, no longer weaving.

"Oh shit Mik, don't" Ilyanna whispered, starting to back up. "Mik calm down, k. He's an asshole, a drunk one at that." Ilyanna started looking around frantically, and Vince pulled away from Dom and started towards her.

The boy took one step towards them, and that was it. Mikki threw a punch and the guy hit the ground.

"Holy fuck!" Leon said startled, and ran over to Leena. Dom started moving towards them. The boy was yelling insults at Mikki and that seemed to fuel her on. She jumped on him, and started pounding him. Dom pulled her off the man and held her up in the air with one arm.

"Get him the fuck out of here." he told the others as Mikki fought wildly against his arm. "And go back to the party. I'll take care of your sister." Leon and Vince had pulled the bleeding boy up and was walking him by the collar of his shirt. Leena and Ilyanna went with them, their eyes as big as saucers in their faces.

Dom pinned Mikayla, flipping her to where she was facing him but her arms were pinned under his arm. He used his free hand to move her hair from her tear soaked face. "Calm down, or I'm dropping you in the fucking water."

She stopped flailing, and relaxed against his chest panting from her exertion. Dom started chuckling, and it turned into full blown laughter. "What's so fucking funny?"

"You kicking some rich boys ass while drunk off yours." he stopped laughing, but was still smiling. "What happened?"

"He called Lee a bitch, and insulted us."

"No, what happened?" he said looking straight at her.

Mikki sighed and sank down to sit in the sand. "The song, I shouldn't have sang it while drunk. I wrote it when my man was killed. About 18 months ago."

Dom sank into the sand next to her. "I'm sorry for that. My Letty was killed a year ago almost exactly."

"Yeah Mia mentioned it. Sorry." They both sat staring at the moon. "I just … miss him. He was my world, and I'm not sure he really knew that."

"How'd he die?"

"Running from the cops. Vaughn was a big time street racer. The best of the best. Got cocky one too many times. They were chasing him, he spun around a corner, but they'd gotten wise. They had a roadblock up, but instead of stopping, he hit the NOS, thought he'd jump them I guess. Flipped the fucking car, and it blew."

"Fuck, you're talking abut Vaughn De Santos." He said looking over at her.

"Heard of him?"

"Knew him a long time ago. I was real sorry to hear about his accident. A true loss. I should have put it together when Pieter mentioned Vaughn and street racing. I heard he got together with some rich Russian mafia princess."

She snorted, "I'm rich, and Russian, and my family's mean, but mafia? Probably Vaughn telling stories." she got quiet and then looked at Dom in shock, "Dominic Toretto?"

He grinned.

"Oh that's funny. Vaughn loved you. Used to tell me about your escapades." They sat for a while longer, and finally headed back to the house. She went inside and cleaned up her scraped knuckles, and went to bed to sleep off the memories.

The next few weeks went smoothly. Dom drooled over her babies, one of which Vaughn had left her when he died, and she drooled over his. Leena and Leon, and Vince and Ilyanna had solidified into couples and were together practically constantly. Mia wanted the girls to play at her wedding which she was constantly planning, and driving Brian crazy with it.

Mikki had even taken to coming over and partying at the guys house instead of staying home. She left Diesel to guard Pieter, knowing he'd be safer with the dog than with anyone else. Pieter followed Dom around as much as possible. Worshipping him in much the same way that he had Vaughn.

One day she'd been coming downstairs to get something and she'd seen Pieter showing Dom video tape collection he'd been given by various people who'd taped Vaughn's races. "Can we watch one Mikki?" Pieter asked hopefully.

"Ok." she said and knew she'd made his day. Dom was already on the couch, and she sat on the other end with Pieter at her feet on the floor. It started and somehow Leena, Ilyanna, Leon and Vince ended up with them. Vaughn was bigger than life. A bear of a man, fifteen years older than Mikki, he rivaled Dom in size.

The movie showed his antics, and made them all laugh. How he grabbed and kissed her before every race saying she was his good luck charm. Then after the race, he would throw her over his shoulder saying how this was the only trophy he needed. The last half hour of the tape was the day he'd died. Mikki watched and was surprised she wasn't crying. It showed a close up of Vaughn, she was in the background talking to someone else.

"Hey, Stevie, video tape this for posterity, K?" the big man then pulled out a small jewelers box and opened it for the camera. A simple emerald cut diamond ring winked up at them on film. "See this pretty little thing? I'm doing it man. I'm gonna ask her, and when she says yes, cuz who could say no to me, right? God I hope she says yes. When she does, we're going to have little Vaughns and little Mikaylas running around. Seriously though, if something happens to me, you show this to her so she knows, ok? Even the best have bad days. And if something does happen to me, the only man who can have my Mikki is the man that could best me on the streets. No one else could handle that little girl." At that moment on the tape he'd turned around and swooped in on Mikayla, laying a lip lock on her that had Pieter grimacing on the floor. The last scene was one of Vaughn saying, "Oh shit cops, no baby you ride with Stevie, I don't want them getting you, I'll get them to chase me."

The room was silent as the television went to static. Mikayla stood up, no tears shimmering down her face, just a wistful smile for a man she'd loved. "Shouldn't you guys be getting ready for a party?"

At the party Dom felt himself getting antsy. Spending all this time with Mikki lately was turning him on. She was amazing. Seeing the tape hadn't helped. He remembered his old friend. He'd also been surprised to feel something close to jealousy seeing the look on Mikki's face when looking at the man on tape. Right now the little redhead who'd been trying to catch his eye all week was dancing as close to him as she could possibly get. Mikki walked in, and it was like he instantly forgot the girl rubbing up on him. Every man in the room had his eyes on her. She was like walking sex. Short, wraparound black skirt that hit mid thigh, and swirled as she walked. Very tiny red bikini top, and her belly button pierced and sporting a ruby in the center. Even her scars turned him on, making him want to touch them and taste them with his tongue. He could almost feel her legs clasped around his waist. Right now she was flirting with some guy who was practically leering at her.

Mikki was going crazy. She wanted Dom, and it made her feel guilty. They had become friends, and she loved Vaughn. Was she just projecting onto Dom because he was like Vaughn and had known him? She needed to do something about this urge, and the guy in front of her would work just as well as the next guy. She knew she'd end up fucking him that night. She told him she'd be right back and went to get a drink.

The redhead who'd been plastered to Dom bumped into her. "Watch where you're going skank." she said snottily.

"Excuse me?" Mikki said politely turning to face her.

"You're not fooling anyone you know. Just a slut looking for a fuck. Well keep away from Dom, he's mine." The redhead didn't realize that Dom was behind her.

"Look little girl, if you so much as say another word about me we're going to have issues." Mikki warned. "Let's face it, you're the poor little rich girl who came to Mexico on Daddy's money looking for a good fuck so you can get back at Daddy for not loving you."

"You bitch!" the redhead screeched.

"Look Buffy, go back to your adulterous daddy, and drunk mommy, and leave the grown ups alone."

The redhead screamed and swung at Mikki. Mikki ducked it and looked around. "Everyone saw her swing first right?" At several nods, Mikki nodded. "Good." She smiled brightly and plowed her fist into the girl's nose. The girl dropped to the ground holding her bloody nose. Dom picked up Mikayla from behind and carried her out of the room sighing.

"Put me the fuck down Dom!" Mikayla yelled.

"Do you have to fucking punch everyone?" he asked, now he knew how Letty had felt all those times she'd told him not to hit anyone, don't lose your temper Dom. He could almost hear her and it made him smile. He put her down when he got to his room and blocked the door with his body. "And what were you doing with that fucking loser down there?"

"We all get urges Dom." she said snidely. "Buffy was taking care of your urge, that loser was going to take care of mine."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" she said stubbornly, her chin in the air.

"Well you just broke Buffy's nose, so now what?"

"She was still fucking conscious, I'm sure she'd do fine…" she never got to finish her statement. Dom whirled her around pushing her into the wall, and putting his lips to hers. At first she was shocked, and then she moaned, pushing her lips harder into his. It was amazing. He tasted so good. He raised her arms above her head against the wall, and she pressed her body against his. Hers soft and female, his roped hard muscle. When their lips parted she was panting slightly, he dropped her hands and grabbed her hips pulling her against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck scratching him lightly. He turned her again, pushing her towards the bed. Dom pushed her onto to the bed, and she looked up at him from lust darkened eyes. Dom pulled his tank over his head and leaned down to her. Mikayla ran her hands over his chest, and down to his jeans. She unbuttoned them and pushed them down. He unclasped her top letting it fall to the side, and gazed down at her breasts. Dusky pink nipples on full perfect breasts were hardened in passion for him, and it made him even harder. He tossed the top to the corner of the room. Mikayla was working on getting his boxers off, and he gasped when she grasped his erection. He practically ripped her skirt from her body to find she was only wearing a thong. He ripped that off without thinking about it, and she laughed throatily. She clasped her long legs around him and he thought he'd go off right then. Dom bit her nipple playfully and she arched under him bringing his erection against her soft belly. She lowered her hand and guided him into her. He slid into her, and groaned. She was so tight and so wet. He moved slowly building up the momentum, and she started thrusting with him. Her nails kept scratching down his back, and he kept pumping into her. They came at once, both of them crying out the other's name. Later they would think about how in those moments together neither one of them had thought of the love they'd lost. They'd only had thoughts of each other. And they would wander what the other had been thinking at the time.

Dom rolled off of her, and pulled her in close to his body. He pulled up the thin sheet to cover their nudity. "I should go." she whispered as he kissed the scar along her shoulder.

"No," he rumbled. "Stay with me tonight." She said nothing, but he felt her nod her acquiescence.

During the night Dom awoke to find her leaning over him. Her tongue was circling his nipple and he felt himself getting hard. She looked up at him, and gave him a saucy smile. She climbed up on top of him, pushing him into her wet, tight, warmth. Using her thighs she started lifting herself up and down, making sure he slid in fully, and out fully. She stretched back and he ran his hands over her breasts, down her sides. Her golden skin, soft and smooth. She rode him until they both came again, and smiling dropped to his chest.

"That was quite the way to wake up." he told her.

"What are we doing here Dom?" she asked with a sigh, running her fingers up and down his chest.

"I don't know." he answered honestly.

"We'd drive each other crazy if we tried to have a relationship."

"Yeah."

"I fight."

"I'm bossy." he rumbled.

"I'm bossy too. My family comes first. I take care of them."

"Same for me and mine."

"No, I mean, they do it my way. That's the only way we've survived." she said sitting up and looking at him.

"Same for us." he said soberly. "We'll figure it out. As we go, we'll figure it out."

Weeks passed. Mia and Brian married, and the other couples were somehow making it work. Dom and Mikki were making it work too. Pieter was spending as much time with Dom as he did Mikki.

She'd even trusted Dom enough to tell him that her parents had died leaving her custody of Pieter when she'd been eighteen. She was twenty eight now, so she'd had the boy since he was just a 3 yr old toddler. She had moved her family to Mexico because her family, while not Russian Mafia, they hadn't exactly been in legitimate business all around. Mikki hadn't wanted that influence on her siblings. Before she'd been born there'd been an arranged marriage for her and her sisters, and she'd run from that. The man, she told Dom, was evil. Cruel, and thirty years her senior. The girls had been betrothed to his sons. She was to have been his fourth wife by the time she turned 18. Then her parents died. She took her 14 yr old sisters, and 3yr old brother and run. Met Vaughn, and the rest was history. She didn't tell Dom that occasionally the man's people would put out feelers trying to locate her. They tried to get to her through her family. They'd always been scared of Vaughn.

It was one of the rare mornings where Mikki hadn't stayed with Dom the night before. She'd gotten a call earlier in the night from one of her friends when she and Vaughn had been together. People were asking about her. She sat on the beach and watched the sun rise. She had a lot of thoughts racing through her head besides those. The feelings she had for Dom were turning out to be more than just the lust she thought they'd be. She'd thought after a while they would have had their fill of each other, and part as friends. Now each time she saw another woman even glance in his direction, she felt a snarl building up in her throat. She'd never been a jealous person with Vaughn.

"What ya doin?" Dom asked from behind her. Something was bugging her, and she wasn't talking.

"Thinking." she told him. She knew he was angry at her.

"About?"

Mikki knew in that instant she had a decision to make: tell him everything else, or walk away. If she told him, he could get dragged in, and he could get hurt. She'd spent so much of her life being the one to take care of everyone else. She was in love with Dom. She wouldn't put him in danger from the people that would be coming. She stood up and faced him. She sighed, "I think we've reached the end of the line Big Guy." she told him lightly.

"Oh really?" he asked, keeping his face blank.

"Don't get me wrong. The sex is amazing, but I only meant to play for a little while, this is trying to turn into something more. Something I don't want."

Dom felt anger boiling inside of him. So, she'd just wanted to play. He kept his emotions hidden. "Whatever? That's fine." he shrugged.

"I hope we'll still be friends." she said going to walk past him.

"Sure no reason not to." She left him standing on the beach.

She walked into her home and broke down crying. Leena and Ilyanna walked down the stairs to her. "You broke up with Dom didn't you?" Lee asked.

Mikki looked at them from startled eyes. "Mik, we saw who called last night. We know how you think. You're trying to protect him." Ilyanna told her from understanding eyes. "I don't think it's right, not when you could have something."

"I love him." she sobbed and dropped to the floor. The two girls ran to her and embraced her close to them.

"Oh baby." Lee whispered.

"Oh Mik."

"You can't tell. Promise me."

"We promise Mikayla, we won't tell anyone." The girls tucked their sister into bed and sat until she went to sleep.

The next few days the two houses of friends were subdued. Dom was back to drinking in his lounge chair, and Mikki was back to smoking, and drinking straight tequila. She'd gotten two more calls, and knew they were getting close.

It was getting close to dusk and Ilyanna was already over with Vince. Leena was getting ready to head over, and Pieter was in the living room playing video games. Mikki was in the kitchen drying the few dishes and heard the car pull up. Three doors opened and shut, and looking out the window she saw the three large men in three piece suits. Tearing through to the living room she screamed for Leena.

"Leena take Pieter over! They are here. Go now."

"No, I won't leave you Mikki." she said starting to cry. Mikki grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Leena I need you to go, get Pieter to safety, take Diesel, keep Ilyanna away from here. I won't let them take you. Dom and the guys will keep you safe. Leena! Do. Not. Come. Back. If I don't come after you in a few hours, then tell them, contact Dale Rodriguez, my lawyer, he'll handle everything." She shoved them out the back door as she heard banging on the front. Please Dom, keep them safe. The door burst open and the three men walked in.

Dom was half asleep when Pieter and Leena came tearing into the house, both of them sobbing. Ilyanna jumped off the couch, and the three started speaking to each other in rapid Russian. Ilyanna screamed and started running for the door, only to be stopped by Leena. Leon and Vince had rushed over by then. The two girls were speaking quietly now, and both seemed to be in agreement. Leena wrote something down quickly, spoke to Pieter, and turned to Dom.

"We have to go Dom. Can Pieter stay here?" she asked tears streaming down her face.

"What's going on Lee? Where's Mikayla?" dread was filling his belly.

The three men were dragging Mikki down the beach. One had a hold of her hair, and one her arm. The third kept kicking her as she walked. She would stumble and fall, and they would jerk her up again. Her face was already starting to swell from their earlier attentions.

Ilyanna was kissing Vince, like she'd never see him again.

"I love you Leon." Lee told the man who looked helpless. The two girls started moving to the door.

"No!" Pieter sobbed. "You can't let them go. The big men came and got Mikki, she sent us here so that you would keep the girls safe, because they want them too."

"I thought that was all over." Dom said with a quiet steely voice.

"No, they've never stopped looking for us." Ilyanna whispered next to the door.

Leena sobbed, "Mikki turned you away to protect you, she knew they were coming. Knew you'd protect us. Trusted you to protect us. But we can't let them have her."

"Do not move from this house." Dom was out the door before she'd finished talking. Vince and Leon following close behind.

She was close to unconscious when they stopped. The men were furious. At one point she'd fought back, and now all three sported wounds. She knew she was going to die. Mikayla was prone on the ground and Sergie kicked her in the stomach. One of the other men had taken out a knife, and was playing with it, presumably trying to scare her. The third man was staring at her with a gleam in his eyes. He knelt down and started pulling her pants down. She started fighting back, screaming, and he punched in the mouth.

Dom, Vince, and Leon, came upon the four, and saw that Mikayla was passed out on the sand. Dom speared the man who was pulling her pants down before he knew what was happening. Vince had managed to knock out the man with the knife, and currently Leon was beating the living shit out of the third man. Dom had the one man by the neck and was glaring into his face.

"I have a message for you and your boss." he growled.

"What's that?" the man gasped.

"If you don't want to end up disappearing to the bottom of the fucking ocean as fish bait, I would suggest you never come near here again. If you so much as speak their names again, I will fucking rip you apart with my bare hands, and if you doubt I can do it, I hope you have your fucking will ready."

The man looked into the slow rage burning in Dom's eyes, and realized that this wasn't the full potential of fury that they man had. He was a coward, so he nodded. The three men scrambled away, practically running as fast as their limping bodies would go to their vehicle.

Dom dropped at Mikayla's body. She was bloody and battered. "Oh no, baby, oh no." He picked her up and carried her to the house. When they got there the sight of their limp sister sent the others into renewed sobs.

Mikayla woke up to blurred vision, a lot of white, and a lot of beeping noises. She took a deep breath and gasped in pain. "I didn't think heaven was supposed to hurt." she whispered.

"You're awake." Leena laughed anxiously.

Mikki swallowed. "What happened? How long was I out?"

"Ilyanna and I were coming for you, and Pieter told the men everything. They saved you. Dom scared those guys away. You've been unconscious for three days."

The door to the room opened, and Dom's large form filled the frame. He looked at Lee and jerked his head to the door. Without questioning him, she got up and walked out after kissing Mikki on the head. Dom walked to the hospital bed. The doctor had been giving him some interesting information.

"You saved me?"

"Looks like it."

"And the girls, you saved the girls. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. If you'd told me before, I'd have helped." he said, quiet anger in his voice.

"Is Pieter ok?"

"Perfect."

"I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble." she murmured.

"Hey what are friends for right?" he asked. "Isn't that what we are? Friends?"

She heard the sarcasm in his voice. She'd truly destroyed whatever they might have had. She closed her eyes, and eventually heard the door open and shut as he left.

A week later she was ready to leave. Most of the bruises were fading, her arm was in a sling, but wasn't broken, and she only had one cracked rib. The biggest surprise had been when the doctor told her she was pregnant. That one had thrown her for a loop. She'd had no idea. Besides the first night, they'd always used protection. Somehow the baby hadn't been damaged by the assault. The doctor called it a miracle. She hadn't decided what she was going to do about it. Her options were simple, she could stay, tell Dom, and hope he would want to know his child. Or she could leave. Her sisters would stay in Mexico, she knew. But she could take Pieter, move, and raise her child. Dom's child. The thought of his child growing under her heart made her feel something she'd never felt before. Complete. Full. She was staring out the window waiting for her ride when the door opened.

"I thought you'd never get here." she turned with a smile expecting her sisters. Instead she found herself facing Dom. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your ride." he said walking up to her.

"Well if you'll just…"

"You need to shut up. I have something to say." he was pleased when her mouth dropped open. "You broke our relationship off trying to protect me, instead of having faith or giving me the choice. That was wrong. It wasn't just your choice to make. Now, I'm willing to be lenient here, because you've had to make the decisions by yourself for a while. But not anymore. From now on this is our family and we'll do it together. Got it?"

"What?" she whispered.

"You heard me. It isn't you take yours and I'll take mine anymore. What's mine is yours and vice versa. I lost someone I loved. And I always said if I ever found someone else I'd prove myself different. I love you Mikayla, and your siblings. And our baby." he said putting his hand gently on her belly.

"I love you too Dom. So much." she cried, and leaned into him. Dom pulled her in, and kissed her with everything he had.

Epilogue:

Dom looked out over the water from his lounge chair. A bottle of water at his feet. Life had changed so much in the past two years. He and Mikayla had gotten married, Leena and Leon, and Ilyanna and Vince had gotten married. Mia and Brian were close to having baby number two, with their little boy Dominic Brian just turning 18 months. Both Leena and Ilyanna were seven months pregnant with their first, and he and his Mikayla were three months along.

Their first two, twins, were born three weeks early, giving their father a terrible fright. But both Jesse Vaughn, and Leticia Mia were now fourteen months. He'd moved in with Mikki and Pieter, who was turning into a little teen beach heartthrob, Lee, Leon, Ilyanna, and Vince had chosen to stay in his old place.

Mikayla wrapped her arms around her husbands shoulders. He pulled her around and pulled her into his lap. She kissed him and felt the same passion that she had the first time they'd kissed. "What are you thinking about?" she asked with a smile.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Vaughn and I raced?" when she shook her head, he grinned, " I beat him." 


End file.
